7 Ways to Show Your Staff Some Appreciation

When your employees—from receptionists and medical coders to registered nurses and physicians—are committed to your medical facility’s goals and passionate about their own contributions to that end, they’re more likely to be productive, effective members of your healthcare team and less likely to seek other employment opportunities. This translates into
lower turnover, fewer recruiting expenditures and—ultimately—a happier, more successful medical practice.

Sounds great, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, many employers—in healthcare as well as other industries—are unsure how to go about creating this engagement. In fact, according to Deloitte’s 2015 Global Human Capital Trends
report, 87 percent of the organizations surveyed cited engagement as one of their top challenges. It’s easy to see why. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace
study, a mere 13 percent of employees worldwide are actually engaged in their jobs.

Lucky for you, you’re about to learn how to make sure yours are among them.

Regularly showing your healthcare staff appreciation is probably the simplest way to increase engagement and put an end to lackluster performance and ceaseless turnover. Why? Because lack of recognition—or appreciation—is regularly cited among the top reasons workers voluntarily quit their positions. Before one more emergency RN, medical staff coordinator or family medicine physician
jumps ship, consider trying a few of these ways to show you recognize their value and appreciate their contribution.

1. Reward them for meeting benchmark goals.

Everybody—from patient service managers to hospitalist physicians—can benefit from having clearly defined goals towards which to work. Set goals with your team regularly, and follow up frequently (weekly, monthly and/or quarterly) to reward them for their progress. For example, you might send a weekly email acknowledging improvement in a specific metric. Or maybe acknowledge progress made in a monthly meeting. You could even consider a quarterly bonus or other reward—from a catered lunch at the office to movie gift cards—if your staff has met their benchmarks.

2. Celebrate with them frequently.

Healthcare is serious work. From life and death decisions to patient financial challenges, your team may be carrying a pretty
hefty emotional burden. Show them you care by providing opportunities to kick back—even just a little—and celebrate. The options are nearly limitless. From ‘funny hat’ and ‘wear jeans to work’ days to birthday, anniversary and holiday parties, it shouldn’t be difficult to find an excuse for a bit of fun. Don’t forget professional accomplishments—such as graduations, certificates or awards—and personal accomplishments—like meeting a weight loss goal or completing a marathon. These are also opportunities to recognize your employees’ achievements.

3. Say “thank you,” and do it often.

Forget “abracadabra,” “thank you” is much more magical—especially when you’re showing employee appreciation. Take the time to express verbal thanks to individual team members on a regular basis. Encourage them to do the same for each other. These two simple words can energize on busy days and forge stronger bonds on difficult ones. Written thanks are also valuable—especially if you tie them directly to something you’ve seen your employee do that made a real difference in the development of your business, staff relations or the life of a patient. Avoid generic notes of gratitude and strive instead for specificity.

4. Get to know more than a name.

Congratulations; you know the names of all the nurses, allied health and administrative professionals in your employ. But do you know anything else? A 2014
study by The Energy Project and Harvard Business Review found that the most engaged employees felt that their emotional, mental, physical and even spiritual needs were being met in the workplace. You can’t meet a need if you don’t know what it is. Make time for meaningful conversations with everyone on your team. Find out about their goals—and not just the ones related to their jobs. Ask about their biggest challenges at work and at home. Explore ways to help them achieve their dreams and feel empowered at the office.

5. Make them feel like owners.

Everyone on your staff needs money and appreciates the opportunity to earn it. However, engaged employees look forward to more than just payday. They enjoy coming into the practice, clinic or hospital because what they do for a living is also important to them. They feel a sense of responsibility towards their patients, their fellow team members—even you. You can enhance this by allowing them to feel like owners as well. Ask them to participate when there’s an important decision to be made. Be transparent about your mission, vision and financial matters. Respect their input, even when you don’t agree.

6. Encourage them to appreciate each other.

The appreciation and recognition of their peers is equally important in employee engagement. Just as you encourage your team to say “thank you,” you can also give them a means to publically recognize the kindness, thoughtfulness and accomplishments of others. Consider asking your staff to ‘report’ the positive things they ‘catch’ their peers doing, either by email or on written cards. Then read these appreciative comments at your team meeting each week or month. You might even throw in a little reward—such as a healthy snack or an extra 10-minute break—each time an employee is recognized.

7. Reward them with points.

These days, it seems like every retailer—from Walgreens to DSW—has a reward points program for loyal customers. Why not put such a system to work creating employee engagement? You could award rewards points to your team for punctuality, accuracy, teamwork, overtime, the demonstration of core values, or other traits you want to encourage. You could then allow your staff to redeem those points for prizes (like cafeteria dollars or restaurant gift cards) or special privileges such as an extra-long lunch break or leaving work a half hour early one day.

According to
Dale Carnegie Training, employers lose $11 billion a year due to employee turnover. Whether you already have an employee engagement problem or want to ensure you don’t develop one in the future, staff appreciation is the perfect place to start.

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